Filed under: Comment
What does the word interesting mean?
If you’re in adland – especially a planner – it appears the definition revolves around being able to quote the words or actions of someone respected in the industry that you’ve just seen or read about.
Of course there’s nothing wrong with that – especially when it sparks off your own thoughts or actions [because let’s face it, doing things others find interesting is better than simply being known for knowing/repeating interesting things] – however what’s started to bother me is there appears to be some people in our industry who have created an elitist view of who – or what – can be classified as interesting … discarding anyone or anything if they’ve not appeared in Wired, TEDTalks or PSFK or worked in adland [as long as it’s at one of the ‘cool’ agencies] or a highly regarded ‘intellectual’ industry/category.
Interesting isn’t purely about the views and actions of the celebrated or the elite, it does – and should – include things that come from the masses … those people we walk past every single day without giving them so much as a second glance.
Whether it’s the elderly woman down my road who told me Chinese women always answer to men – initially their father, then their husband, then their son – through to the prostitute who can tell how the economy is doing by the number of foreign businessmen she comes into contact with through to the woman in the documentary I watched who bought a painting at a thrift shop, convinced herself it was a Pollock and then turned down US$9 million for it … there’s something or someone of interest everywhere if we just drop our prejudice, open our eyes and ask the right questions.
Please don’t think I’m trying to say I’m doing something special or am the only one who thinks/acts this way, I’m not, lots of people do – and have been doing – this sort of thing for bloody ages … I guess I’m just saying that if we’re looking for ‘interesting’, then we should look beyond the industry magazines, trend company websites, planner blogs and specialist conferences because if we only shower those things with our attention and praise then we’re not only doing ourselves a massive disservice, but we’re missing out.
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Comment by john June 14, 2011 @ 6:21 amThat’s just because you are the social butterfly of London conferences.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 8:10 amthe fucking tart of conferences.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 8:30 amGood job I ignored this respected person in the industry I’d read about
http://www.psfk.com/2009/01/rob-cambell-on-how-creativity-liberates-buisiness-at-psfk-conference-asia-2008.html
Comment by tom June 14, 2011 @ 6:26 amrespected?
hahahahahahah. ahahaha. haha.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 6:40 amI agree … respected?
Who the hell is spreading that stupid rumour.
For the record, I’m not saying people shouldn’t check out PFSK, Tedtalks, blogs … they’re great and have lots of value … I’m just saying people shouldn’t ONLy check out those sites and remember ‘interesting’ resides in their neighbourhood if they just look a bit harder.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 8:14 amso how is the economy these days?
Comment by niko June 14, 2011 @ 6:55 amwhere the fuck have you been hiding?
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 7:00 amthe shed
Comment by niko June 14, 2011 @ 7:11 amsquatter.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 7:33 amI knew you’d understand
Comment by niko June 14, 2011 @ 4:51 pmi fucking hate saying this but i agree with this.
sure it could be better written and not from a fucker who turns up at the opening of a fucking envelope but theres way too fucking much phdoxbridgemba wannabes and groupies in plannerland.
nothing wrong with smarts but theres everyfuckingthing wrong if you only ever fucking talk about it.
this blog is spared because no fucker comes here for the views and the views have no fucking brains in them but few of the other fuckers who have blogs ever talk about everyday life, its all the latest fucking tedtalk theory that is all fucking interesting but doesnt mean youre going to be able to understand some single child rearing fucker in queens which is what they get paid to fucking do most of the time.
it might not be cool or sexy to talk to the old bird down the fucking street but id take her view over most fuckers that only deal with people theyre like or want to be fucking like.
plannings problem is it used to be about the fucking people now its about the intellectual fucking prestige.
i reserve the right to change my mind on liking this post at a later fucking date.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 6:59 amAre you ill?
I love the ‘plannings problem is it used to be about the fucking people now its about the intellectual fucking prestige’ … it’s sadly true [with some] and has caused the rise of this Rockstar planner bollocks that I absolutely detest.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 8:16 amlook down and youll see youre not the first fucker to realise my genius. as usual.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 8:23 amIT’s still about the people a little bit
Comment by northern June 14, 2011 @ 6:12 pmIsn’t an elitist the top of the range Lotus?
Comment by DH June 14, 2011 @ 7:01 amNo comment? It wasn’t that bad. Better than anything Billy has ever done.
Comment by DH June 14, 2011 @ 8:24 amthats not much of a fucking achievement is it dave.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 8:27 am“Plannings problem is it used to be about the people and now its about the prestige.”
That’s about the most insightful commentary about the state of the discipline as I’ve read anywhere. I agree with this post. It’s not about shunning higher learning it’s about also recognising the significant value you can obtain from everything else, be it exploring the seemingly mundane to chatting with the lady down the street.
Comment by George June 14, 2011 @ 7:09 ami am a fucking genius. and you copied what i said so youre one of the fuckers campbells slagging off in this post. double win.
by the way campbell, telling people to talk to women on the street wont make your prostitute chats any less fucking freaky. just so you know.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 7:13 am+1
Comment by Pete June 14, 2011 @ 7:34 amOh, George has already called it out. Bollocks.
Nothing has changed from my school exam days – where instead of reading the whole paper before I start, I dive straight in and realise the error of my ways half way through.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 8:18 amblind prick.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 8:22 amI don’t think the issue is the people who speak at high profile events, but the people who only base their views and knowledge on what they’ve said.
Comment by Pete June 14, 2011 @ 7:39 amwhy the fuck are you protecting campbell? he might turn up at a curtain opening, but every bastard knows if hes been invited to something, it wont be intellectual, itll be more of a fucking comedy.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 8:00 amI’m guessing that’s except the times I was presenting with you.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 8:19 amthats fucking obvious.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 8:22 amInteresting is where one finds it, isn’t it? There’s a gem within this very post – that of being tolerant enough to spot ‘interestingness’ when one sees it.
I’d quote a certain london ecd for you – ‘…at our worst we’re bloody twee and very up our own idiom. I think we need to spend less time up anyone’s idiom in particular’ – the delicious irony that I am quoting someone else is of course implicit.
Here’s to another year of inspiring blogging.
Comment by harshal June 14, 2011 @ 12:00 pmI’m speaking at a conference tomorrow. Does this make me a wanker?
Morning.
Comment by Marcus June 14, 2011 @ 3:02 pmDepends on the conference Marcus. Or should I say, depends on the audience it attracts and what they do with what you tell them.
So the answer to your question is ‘the juries still out’.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 3:27 pmoh dear.
Comment by Marcus June 14, 2011 @ 3:40 pmGo on, what are you talking at. And to whom?
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 4:20 pmThis is one of the main reasons why I pulled back from writing longer posts on my blog. I felt pressured to write “intelligent” planning stuff like a lot of the other young planners around me. It wasn’t till I met a “senior planner”, who was quite prolific on social media, and realised that he/she was pretty shit at their actual job. It made me realise that (like them) I wasn’t writing my blog for the audience but to big note myself. It was an illusion and it was fucking lame and not fun anymore.
I’d much rather post random things I like/find inspiring now.
Comment by Age June 14, 2011 @ 4:07 pmthat is the best excuse i’ve ever read for deserting your blog. it may be true, but i’m not happy about it 🙂
Comment by lauren June 14, 2011 @ 4:10 pmThat’s the sort of post rationalising that got you to W+K.
Excellent work, will tell Chesters immediately.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 4:20 pmIt hasn’t been totally abandoned! But it’s kinda shit trying to think of intellectual bollocks to write so that my blog gets a good Australian Marketing ranking. Couldn’t care less now because I realised (like Rob kinda alluded to) that real life is much more interesting, hence the longing desire for coffee and a cake 😉
Comment by Age June 14, 2011 @ 4:22 pmYou mean you gave a fuck about your ‘Australian ranking’?
That might be the most offensive thing I’ve ever heard you say Age.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 4:24 pmIt wasn’t the reason why I wrote stuff, but it added an extra level of conciousness to it. What I’m saying is the older I got, the more confident I got, and the less I started to care about having to prove myself online – which is a big deal for me as I’m the most self concious fucker you’ll ever meet. Just ask Lauren!
Comment by Age June 14, 2011 @ 4:34 pmOf course you’re self conscious, you have red hair.
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 4:52 pmno, age is self-conscious because advertising in australia is full of wankers, and when you’re not one, it’s easy to be self-conscious about it.
and dude, what i wouldn’t give for a brother baba budan coffee, brioche and an ABCD slanging match… 😉
Comment by lauren June 14, 2011 @ 11:33 pmjust the aussie advertising fuckers are wankers?
Comment by andy@cynic June 15, 2011 @ 6:43 amexcellent post, rob. and a good reminder of how you stay kind of interesting yourself – because you’re interested. and even though russell has become one of the industry’s go-to peeps, his ideas on interestingness a while back were influential in talking to people from more random and diverse backgrounds and reading more way-out shit.
Comment by lauren June 14, 2011 @ 4:15 pmI think this is something that planners can learn from artists, specifically authors. As a novelist, I have to look at the way normal people act. They are my characters. As a marketer, this habit has helped me put myself in those people’s shoes.
Comment by Kate D. June 14, 2011 @ 4:20 pmGood point Kate, I am also a massive believer in the things comedians can teach us about ‘real life’ [http://bit.ly/h0RRPh] but I’d still say the best thing you can do is actually go and live in that world rather than the marketing bubble.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 4:23 pmfor a second it read like Kat von D had posted a comment..
Comment by niko June 14, 2011 @ 4:57 pmCareful Niko, that sort of view is copyrighted by the original pimpmaster, Mr Charles Frith.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 4:58 pmit was that or publicly make fun of certain planners who are reading and nodding their heads agreeing with your comedian statement, when… well we know the rest..
and yes, I am being petty and am holding a grudge
Comment by niko June 14, 2011 @ 5:03 pmOf course you would never hold a grudge would you Niko. Ahem.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 7:10 pmi had to look up who kat von d was. i learned something today.
Comment by lauren June 14, 2011 @ 11:21 pmyou didnt know the serial bad boy shagging machine? fuck me im jealous as fuck.
Comment by andy@cynic June 15, 2011 @ 6:41 amOf course the vast majority of attendees at Interesting 2011 this weekend will be planners and it will be fun, but as I’ve always said if you look around and recognise more than 10% of the audience, you’ve become assimilated.
Comment by john June 14, 2011 @ 5:01 pmI love how you say ‘if you know more than 10% of the audience, you’ve assimilated’. I don’t know if that’s strictly true, but the sentiment of what you’re expressing is great and should be as much used for people organising conferences as those attending them.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 7:04 pmAndy being insightful, next you’ll be telling Rob is doing copywriting…
Comment by Rob Mortimer June 14, 2011 @ 5:08 pmWith the amount I write to explain a simple premise? Never.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 7:11 pmabsofuckinglutely no, never, not a fucking chance.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 9:25 pmCompletely agree with this post. There seem to be people who just go to conferences and get quoted by Campaign…yet when you meet and talk to them, it’s all hot air.
Comment by Will June 14, 2011 @ 5:23 pmI like this post very much, must be good, even Andy thinks it’s okay.
Comment by northern June 14, 2011 @ 6:16 pmInterestingly, I work in Sheffield, which is hardly a buzzing cauldron of hipster grooviness, but you’d be amazed at how many people here avoid Meadowhall like the plague.
It’s a tortuous, behemoth shopping centre, but if you want to tap into what people are talking about and how they’re feeling, I can’t think of a better barometer., or at least while I’m too scared of my wife to start interviewing hookers
We’ve talked about this before Northern …
Too many in adland diss the popular choices and while much might not be to our particular tastes, our job is not to judge, but to understand and the fact that so many in our industry seem to have forgotten that helps explain why much of our industry is fighting to be regarded credibly by industry and society alike.
Comment by Rob June 14, 2011 @ 7:24 pmWe don’t call it Meadowhell for nothing!
Comment by Rob Mortimer June 14, 2011 @ 7:25 pmBut I agree on your actual point.
the posts ok. my comment was fucking brilliant.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 9:24 pmand there it was — this white flash in front of my eyes. interesting.
agree with the sentiment. as i said before, what some people in advertising might find interesting… and btw, i, for one, would add respected as well… not wanting to come off all assholish, but when i sometimes read what some write and get fucking applauded for all around. oh well… that kind of sparks emotions that sit on the intersection of rage and laughter, leading to idontgiveafckvalley either way
Comment by peggy June 14, 2011 @ 9:04 pmfuck worrying about assholish, however bad you think you could be theres some fucker in adland that can do better.
Comment by andy@cynic June 14, 2011 @ 9:22 pmwhat a relief
Comment by peggy June 14, 2011 @ 9:27 pmPlanners are responsible for all the suffering in the world. Fact.
Comment by Billy Whizz June 14, 2011 @ 10:10 pmif you dont only mean ad planners — fact
Comment by peggy June 14, 2011 @ 10:12 pmBut mainly them. Fact.
Comment by Billy Whizz June 14, 2011 @ 10:17 pmmainly yours
Comment by peggy June 14, 2011 @ 10:20 pmForget facts, it’s law.
Comment by DH June 14, 2011 @ 10:22 pmI speak for everyone. It’s the american way.
Comment by Billy Whizz June 14, 2011 @ 10:24 pmwhats law. thats that invention to make it all just. must be american as well
Comment by peggy June 14, 2011 @ 10:25 pmcommunist.
Comment by Billy Whizz June 14, 2011 @ 10:36 pmboxer
Comment by peggy June 14, 2011 @ 10:42 pmFacts smacts, you can use facts to prove anything that’s even remotely true…
Comment by Rob Mortimer June 15, 2011 @ 12:02 amtoo true. it just needs the right spin. or story. story telling. or bs.
Comment by peggy June 15, 2011 @ 12:06 amfuck me none of you fuckers get billys sarcasm do you. lighten the fuck up.
Comment by andy@cynic June 15, 2011 @ 6:37 amsarcasm. is that the same as a joke, but elitist?
Comment by peggy June 15, 2011 @ 6:45 am[…] 2: My good friend Ashly shared a post the other day which honestly, after each sentence, I found myself thinking: Yes! Exactly! Whomever […]
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